Shadewood Do these tacos taste funny to you?

I thought I'd do a segue, so this'll be my last post!

The boggy conditions eventually gave way to a dryer forest (relatively speaking—the rain continued to pour) which Towhee would have found relieving if she hadn't felt so frustrated by the lack of a trail. She stopped at the foot of a rocky outcropping planted in the midst of the trees, teeth clenched. Maybe where they were coming up with nothing, the boys were faring better, although Towhee doubted it.

She heaved a great sigh and turned to locate Niamh's golden pelt through the dreary gray curtains of rain. She moved her forelegs to sign something to her friend when something caught her eye, lifting her orange gaze skyward despite the downpour. Towhee bit her lip as she watched X sail nearer. She hastily moved to an opening in the trees and barked to grab his attention, causing him to bank and begin descending.

"Did you find him?!" she blurted as soon as his talons touched the wet ground.

X simply looked at her a beat, then shook his head. There was another pause—Towhee felt her stomach sinking—before he mentioned the name of another sibling entirely: Orca. He conveyed the word for "dead" and she squinted the rain out of her eyes, sure she had misunderstood. But when commanded to repeat it, X slowly repeated his message: "Orca is dead."